Sir John Purser Griffith (5 October 1848 – 21 October 1938) was a Welsh-born Irish

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and politician.ICE Obituary
/ref> Griffith was educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

and gained a licence in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in 1868. He served a two-year apprenticeship under Dr Bindon Blood Stoney, the Engineer in Chief of the Dublin Port and Docks, before working as assistant to the county surveyor of

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. He returned to Dublin in 1871 and worked as Dr. Stoney's assistant, becoming the Chief Engineer in 1898 before retiring in 1913. ICE editathon - One Great George Street - 19 July 2013 34

ICE editathon - One Great George Street - 19 July 2013 34

He served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in Ireland between 1887 and 1889 and of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

between 1919 and 1920. He was elected Commissioner of Irish Lights in 1913 and was a member of the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

on Canals and Waterways between 1906 and 1911. Griffith purchased and drained the bogland at Pollagh, part of the

Bog of Allen The Bog of Allen () is a large raised bog in the centre of Republic of Ireland, Ireland between the rivers River Liffey, Liffey and River Shannon, Shannon. The bog's 958 square kilometres (370 square miles) stretch into counties County Offaly, ...

, a peat fuelled power station was built which drove an excavator, excess peat being taken by the Grand Canal for sale in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

.Lough Boora Parklands
/ref> The site was sold to the Turf Development Board in 1936 who used it as a basis for all of their later peat fuelled power stations, the area is now a nature reserve. Griffith received a knighthood in 1911 and became vice-president of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...

in 1922. He served as an Honorary Professor of Harbour Engineering at Trinity College, his alma mater, and received an honorary M.A.I. degree from the University of Dublin in 1914. From 1922 he was an elected member of the

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

until its abolition in 1936. In the 1930s he and his niece

Sarah Purser Sarah Henrietta Purser RHA (22 March 1848 – 7 August 1943) was an Irish artist mainly noted for her portraiture. She was the first woman to become a full member of the Royal Hibernian Academy. She also founded and financially supported An T� ...

, endowed the Purser Griffith Travelling Scholarship and the Purser Griffith Prize to the two best-performing students in European Art History at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

.University College Dublin prizes
/ref> He died at Rathmines Castle in

on 21 October 1938.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, John Irish civil engineers 1848 births 1938 deaths Irish knights Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the 1922 Seanad Members of the 1925 Seanad Members of the 1928 Seanad Members of the 1931 Seanad Members of the 1934 Seanad Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland Independent members of Seanad Éireann People from Holyhead